Capt. Emil Casciano, commanding officer of the Submarine Learning Center and the keynote speaker, said, “It’s neither accident nor coincidence that a ship’s crew reflects the passion and engagement of their captain, and USS Pittsburgh has had both in abundance under Mike Savageaux.”

During Savageaux’s command tour, Pittsburgh (SSN 720) completed two deployments and received numerous awards, including two consecutive Golden Anchor awards and the 2010 Commander, Submarine Squadron Two Battle Efficiency award. Pittsburgh returned from a six-month deployment June 27.

Savageaux said he has seen many of the sailors “grow from learners into leaders” and said he was impressed with both the junior officers and chiefs aboard Pittsburgh

“The most rewarding aspect of my command tour was that we built a tight, family-oriented command despite having a very high operating tempo,” said Savageaux, who will soon take over as the director of training at the Naval Submarine School.

Ward said his dream job “is and always has been commanding a submarine.” He previously served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.